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Originally Posted by animatedmartian
What I'd consider "extremely special" about this project is that it's the most visible prime location in the city and is potentially skyline changing. If anything, the most valuable thing about the project is its hype and the perceptions it brings (or could change). Beyond the hype, however, it's like any other construction project.
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Hardly, this is easily one the highest quality tower projects in the country right now if not the highest. The street interaction is impeccable, the materials are as good as it gets today and very expensive, the mixed use programming is something 95% of developers will never even attempt to do, parking is entirely underground. We are incredibly spoiled to have Bedrock. Do you know what people build in other cities? Utterly hideous parking podium fortresses that are single use, maybe two use if you're lucky. They could have done that here way faster and much cheaper. But they know Detroit is better than that.
The economic boost to the city is huge. Again there's thousands of union workers on this site, many of them city residents. Will be huge money for the city to tax on the high paying white collar jobs, service workers and housing.
And I meant more the situation is special, him and what he's willing to do in the city and the resources they have. The funnel of capital and the continued investment of capital in the future.
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No he doesn't. The city doesn't owe him anything other than the services it already provides to all its citizens. The "generosity" he gives in the form of investments is just that, "generosity". If he expects a reward then maybe someone might think it nice enough to make him a statute.
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You can feel differently, but in terms of what has been given and taken. It's objective who's getting way more out of the situation (the city and it's people). He has saved this city's ass on multiple occasions (like fail jail for example). I'm not even sure it would be possible to fully quantify the impact they've made on the city with all the spinoff activity and projects that you can trace back to him. Like do you honestly think Ford would be doing the train station if it wasn't for Gilbert's initial investments? None of what they've accomplished would have happened with a traditional developer, debt finance setup. It simply would have never happened. And for that the city will always owe him at least symbolically. To pretend that goodwill means nothing and there's nothing to appreciate here and what they've brought to the city is pretty callous.
It's not really about a "reward" either, it's about the city doing the absolute bare minimum in keeping the great things coming. And it would be a disservice to the residents to hinder that in any way.
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No, if his motivation is not to make a profit, then don't complain about things that might affect potential profits... like taxes. Which isn't even that much.
The city is much bigger than 1 or 2 blocks, several miles, or even all of its neighborhoods combined. But to say Dan Gilbert can determine the path of Detroit one way or other for what he does or doesn't do is, I think, really narrow-minded.
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I think you may have already forgotten what 2007 Detroit and it's reality was like before they moved into city limits and started dumping huge amounts of cash here.
Sure, he's not the single sole factor. But to act like he's not the biggest factor and not the one who catalyzed the momentum in the city today is just flat out ignorance. Nobody wants to move to a city with a busted abandoned city core, having a strong center was/is absolutely critical to all the other square miles of Detroit and does play a huge role in the whole city's path.
He can not be motivated by profit and there still be a need for the tax breaks. He's working with banks (who are motivated by profit and nothing else, which he cant control). I highly doubt they care about 60 million, it's about finance. And ultimately, all the money goes right back into the city anyway.
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